I recall buying some Chinese adapters that had that 8 pin socket. The pins on those adapters were fat and I also wondered whether they would cause undue wear. Maybe the VA 350B will be good for acoustic material where you need that big sound-stage. Then a good 6L6 will expand the sound-stage measurably.

Having said that, I'm still looking for better options ... Currently Mazda's are out of stock, so I'm still on the look-out for alternatives. Same with the preamp tubes. My last 12AU7 black plate RCA's did not make it. Not even close to the Brimar (12AT7's). Same with the 6414's.

I believe unless it is a super special preamp tube, the 12AU7 doesn't cut it in my system, too dark, mellow and warm ... I prefer the kick out of a good 12AT7 or anything close to that spec. Need to find them both (6V6 and 12AT7 alternatives) though ...

Can anybody comment on the feedback adjustment in version 2 of the Mini Torii? I believe it is not a mod for me, since I assume the stock feedback was the best compromise for sound quality in that design. But, I may be wrong.

Since I'll be sending the Mini for UFO and Beeswax, plus attenuators, I'm wondering if I should also include this feedback adjustment mod. If you guys with first-hand experience provide positive 'feedback' (pun intended) on this mod, I'll consider it. I'm just afraid it may affect the floor noise or something may have to give when you reduce feedback (otherwise the original design would have omitted any feedback to aim for a true SEP configuration). While the tradeoff may have to do with dynamics vs distortion (THD), I assume Steve's original design went for the optimal compromise, so why would one want the negative feedback adjustment for?

I have the feedback adjustment mod. My disclaimer is that I use the Mini Torrie exclusively with my LCD2 headphones.

I had the feedback mod added when I had to send my Mini Torrie in for a bad transformer. Also got the upgraded caps.

So my take on the feedback adjustment mod is that it gives you a much wider range of adjustments. In my opinion this is really a tone control which either dulls the sound or makes it bright. I have a hard time adjusting it because it also makes the headphones louder or softer in volume which makes it difficult to compare settings.

If I were to do it over I would pass on it as the stock sound was just right. Now I fiddle with the adjustments too much.

That is my opinion and it is only with my headphones. If you are using speakers it may be a different answer.

Thanks for your thoughts. This is precisely what I wanted to learn about this mod. Even though Steve suggested it to me, as part of my quest to beef up the Mini Torii for improved resolution and transparency, I'm hesitant to apply this mod because it may actually compromise the fidelity obtained through the original design.

As you put it, there may be some tradeoffs showing up in tone variations, which may be useful for some recordings, but I believe it will not bring a net sound improvement, but another way to adjust its output at the cost of some tradeoffs. Even considering your experience is exclusively through headphones, I would think this condition would not change using speakers.

I'll just wait by to see if I can get some more feedback from other users before I make my decision, but so far this corroborates my concerns. BTW, how did the Caps upgrade went with your sound in the Mini Torii? Thanks again!

I think caps are worth doing but you can probably get more bang for the buck by finding good tubes. If your tubes have been replaced with NOS and are already good to great then get the caps.

In regards to the feedback mod. - you do get many more ways to tune but in the end none of them sounded any better than the stock tune to my ears. But it is hard to judge as I could not A/B test and have to rely on my memory.

Got it, thanks! My tubes are NOS, and I think my RCA 6V6 G ST's are very good. I combine them with Brimar 12AT7's and this is my best complement so far. I may eventually want to venture into some 6V6 Mazda's or some other good 12AU7/12AT7 to combine it with, when I find them. We'll see. Any other tube suggestions?